"When the sacredness of life before birth is attacked, we will stand up and proclaim that no one ever has the authority to destroy unborn life."
- Pope John Paul II

Pennsylvania

Ranking: 3

Pennsylvania's efforts to protect women from the negative consequences of abortion have been ground-breaking, as memorialized in the landmark case Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Pennsylvania has led the way for other states by enacting such measures as informed consent, parental consent, and state funding of abortion alternatives. However, there has been little effort to regulate human cloning.

Abortion:
  • In the landmark case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Pennsylvania's informed consent requirements, mandated 24-hour reflection period prior to an abortion, and parental consent requirement for a minor seeking an abortion were upheld as constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • The state requires abortion providers to state in their printed materials that it is illegal for someone to coerce a woman into having an abortion.
    Pennsylvania does not provide public funding or public facilities for an abortion unless the abortion is necessary to preserve the woman's life or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
  • Health plans funded by the state may not include coverage for abortions unless an abortion is necessary to preserve a woman's life, the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest reported by the woman to a law enforcement agency, or there is a fetal abnormality.
  • Pennsylvania prohibits organizations that receive state funds from using those funds to provide abortion counseling or to make referrals for abortion. The state also restricts the use of some or all state facilities for the performance of abortion.
  • Pennsylvania mandates minimum health and safety standards for abortion clinics. the regulations prescribe minimum requirements for the building or facility, staffing, clinic administration, patient medical evaluations, and post-operative care. these standards require a patient safety plan and the reporting of "serious" incidents (as defined in the enabling legislation). Abortion providers must also maintain hospital admitting privileges.
    only physicians or doctors of osteopathy licensed to practice medicine in Pennsylvania may perform abortions.
  • Pennsylvania has allocated millions of dollars to abortion alternative programs. entities receiving the funds cannot perform abortions or provide abortion counseling.
  • Pennsylvania offers "Choose Life" license plates, the proceeds of which are used to fund adoption and abortion alternatives services.
  • The state has an enforceable abortion reporting law, but does not require the reporting of information to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). the measure applies to both surgical and nonsurgical abortions and requires abortion providers to report short-term complications.
Legal Recognition of Unborn and Newly Born:
  • Under Pennsylvania criminal law, the killing of an unborn child at any stage of gestation is defined as homicide.
  • Pennsylvania defines a nonfatal assault on an unborn child as a criminal offense. the state allows wrongful death (civil) actions when a viable unborn child is killed through a negligent or criminal act.
  • The state has created a specific affirmative duty for physicians to provide medical care and treatment to born-alive infants at any stage of development.
  • Pennsylvania funds drug treatment programs for pregnant women and newborns.
  • Pennsylvania law provides for "fetal death registrations."

Bioethics Laws:
  • Pennsylvania prohibits harmful experimentation on any "unborn child," which is defined as "an individual organism of the species homo sapiens from fertilization until live birth." The law may be interpreted to also prohibit harmful experimentation on cloned human embryos.
  • Pennsylvania maintains fairly comprehensive regulations for assisted reproductive technologies (Art), including who may practice and participate in the services, record keeping, and standards for maintenance of clinical facilities involved in Art. It also requires quarterly reports of Art data, including number of eggs fertilized, destroyed, or discarded and the number of women implanted.

End of Life Laws: .
  • In Pennsylvania, assisting a suicide is a felony.

Healthcare Rights of Conscience Laws:

Participation in Abortion:
  • If an objection is made in writing and is based on religious, moral, or professional grounds, a physician, nurse, staff member, or other employee of a hospital or healthcare facility is not required to participate in abortions and cannot be held liable for refusing to participate. medical and nursing students are also protected.
  • Except for facilities that perform abortions exclusively, each facility that performs abortions must prominently post a notice of the right not to participate in abortions.
  • A private hospital or other healthcare facility is not required to perform abortions and may not be held liable for this refusal.
  • Pennsylvania also protects healthcare providers who object to providing abortifacients

Participation in Research Harmful to Human Life:
  • Pennsylvania currently provides no protection for the rights of healthcare providers who conscientiously object to participation in human cloning, destructive embryo research, or other forms of immoral medical research.

What Happened in 2009:
  • Pennsylvania enacted legislation funding abortion alternatives and providing for stillbirth certificates.
  • Pennsylvania considered legislation requiring healthcare providers to report treatment of a minor who is pregnant or has a sexually transmitted disease to preserve evidence against sexual offenders. The state also considered legislation requiring parental involvement for minors seeking contraception and measures protecting unborn victims of violence.
  • Conversely, the state considered legislation requiring hospitals and healthcare facilities provide information about and access to "emergency contraception," as well as measures requiring insurance coverage of abortion.
  • Pennsylvania considered legislation allowing physician-assisted suicide, but it also considered measures aimed at improving the quality of care for patients suffering pain.
  • Pennsylvania did not consider any measures related to bioethics or healthcare rights of conscience.


Recommendations for Pennsylvania
Short-term
Priorities
Additional
Goals
Abortion
Informed Consent Enhancements such as ultrasound requirement, counseling on fetal pain, and/or coerced abortion prevention  
Parental Involvement Enhancements such as notarized consent or identification requirements  
State Rights and Policies    
Abortion Funding  

 

Abortion Provider Requirements    
Abortion Bans  

 

Regulation of Abortifacients   Regulation of RU-486
PCCS Support

Continued funding of PCC's

 
Abortion Reporting    
Legal Recognition and Protection for Unborn and Newly Born
Fetal Homicide Comprehensive unborn victims of violence protection  
Assault on Unborn    
Prohibitions on Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Life Lawsuits    
Permit Wrongful Death Lawsuits    
Born-Alive Infant Protection

 

 
Abandoned Infant Protection    
Bioethics
Human Cloning   Ban on human cloning
DER   Ban on DER
State Funding of DER Ban on state funding of DER  
ART and IVF   Any medically-appropriate regulation of ART
End of Life
Assisted Suicide    
Pain Management Education    
Rights of Conscience
Protection for Individual Providers Comprehensive ROC protection  
Protection for Institutions

Comprehensive ROC protection

 
Protection for Payers Comprehensive ROC protection  

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